Creativity Starters: Journaling

I want to share with you how to get creative with your journaling. Sometimes it is hard to know what to say and just how to say it. Other times it is what we say that starts an entire layout, so knowing how to say it or how to think of it are the keys. Here are 20 more ways to get creative! Enjoy!

1. What made you laugh this week? Scrapbook the story and why it made you chuckle.
2. When you come across a quote that you love, use it to begin the journaling on a page.
3. Journal using one of the 5 senses.
4. Choose 3 adjectives that describe the event and then explain why you chose them.
5. Create a mini-album using the words to your favorite children's story but replace the illustrations with your own photos.
6. Start with a favorite movie quote that your family recites often.
7. Include an applicable scripture on your layout.
8. Pick a random date from 2005-2008. Got it? Use your diary entry from that date to create a layout. If you don't keep a journal, find your photos taken closest to that date and scrapbook them.
9. Create a page about how the weather makes you feel.
10. Take photos of your favorite object. Journal about why the piece is your favorite, what it means to you and any stories about it.
11. Ask a family member to share a favorite memory from a day, week, month or year of their life. Summarize the story in your words or write down what the family member said verbatim. You'll record a great piece of family history!
12. Think of a favorite advertising campaign (example: MasterCard's "Priceless" campaign) and use it as a starting point for your journaling.
13. Carry a small notebook with you and record the daily happenings around you. At the end of the week create a layout using those details to create a summary of the week's happenings.
14. Not sure what to scrapbook next? Write down your available themes and occasions and put them in a jar, and pull out a winner!
15. Create a Mad Lib approach on a page about your kids. Write down the story leaving blanks along the way. Have your kids fill in the blanks in their own words.
16. Record your favorite recipe and the story behind it.
17. Jot down how far in advance you know about the event being scrapbooked, the preparations you made for it, the timeline of the event and who attended.
18. Share how the topic you are scrapbooking reminds you of another experience. you could include how the previous event helped inspire or prepare you for this one. Or describe the fun times you had at both activities-you'll get 2 events scrapbooked on one layout!
19. Ready to start journaling? Simply write non-stop for 2 minutes without worrying if your text makes sense. At the end of two minutes read your thoughts. Pull out a couple of sentences that best capture your memory of the event.
20. If you were to have guessed 5 years ago what the event your scrapbooking would have been like, what would you have expected? How does that compare to your expectations of the event the day before it happened? Write your thoughts about the event and use them to show how your perception has changed over time.